After the Red Wolves put up a run in the third, Shantz responded with a humongous blast deep over the left field wall to tie the game at 1-1 in the fifth. The home run was the fourth of the season for the junior out of Colorado. Later in the inning, Garcia gave the Panthers the lead with an RBI-double, scoring Adam Kirsch who singled and stole a base in the inning.

Arkansas State responded in the bottom half of the fifth to take a 3-2 lead on a two-RBI double by Zach George. After loading the bases, ASU's Ryan Emery promptly cleared them with a double off the centerfield wall for a 6-2 ASU lead.

After the Red Wolves made it a 7-2 game, the Panthers showed some life in the eighth when Garcia and Bermudez scored on a Burns ground out and a Martinez RBI-single, respectively. The Panthers couldn't muster another run, ultimately falling to the Red Wolves, 7-4.

FIU will again take on ASU on Saturday in game two of the series. First pitch is slated for 3:00 p.m. ET, which was moved up two hours to beat the weather. The Panthers will throw Mike Ellis. He will be opposed by Daniel Wright.

Fans can follow the action all season long on Twitter (@FIUBaseball) and Facebook (facebook.com/FIUBaseball) as well as logging on to FIUSports.com's blog - The Prowl - for live play-by-play game blogs of select games. Live audio and video are available for all home games through Panther Pass.

Tickets are on sale for all FIU home games at the University Credit Union Box Office at the R. Kirk Landon Field House or by calling 305-FIU-Game or logging on to FIUSports.com.

About FIU Athletics: FIU Athletics is home to more than 400 student-athletes in 18 different sports, and is a proud member of the Sun Belt Conference and an affiliate member of Conference USA (men's soccer). Athletic events are played in seven different venues on FIU's campuses (Modesto A. Maidique and Biscayne Bay), including U.S. Century Bank Arena and Alfonso Field at FIU Stadium.

About FIU:Florida International University is recognized as a Carnegie engaged university. Its colleges and schools offer more than 180 bachelor's, master's and doctoral programs in fields such as engineering, international relations, architecture, law and medicine. As one of South Florida's anchor institutions, FIU is worlds ahead in its local and global engagement, finding solutions to the most challenging problems of our time. FIU emphasizes research as a major component of its mission and enrolls nearly 48,000 students in two campuses and three centers including FIU Downtown on Brickell and the Miami Beach Urban Studios. More than 140,000 alumni live and work in South Florida. FIU is a member of the Sun Belt Conference and has 400 student-athletes participating in 18 sports. For more information about FIU, visit http://www.fiu.edu/.

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Tyler James Shantz hit his fourth homer of the season on Friday night.